


The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Fake Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Get Together, MayThe4th Treat, Post-Star Wars: A New Dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 20:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14528766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Kanan and Hera, from point A to point B, and all the places between.





	The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Irusu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irusu/gifts).



> Content notes at the end contain spoilers.

While Hera was busy calculating their jump, Kanan gave himself a tour of the sweet little ship she'd invited him aboard. Plenty of cargo room in the hold, good for storage or a bit of light smuggling. Comfy enough crew area with a galley right off the lounge. Poking through the cabinets found a lot of hard rations and not much else. Four crew cabins, three of which opened with a touch. The fourth remained firmly locked. Well. He couldn't blame her for locking her room. She didn't know him.

The hatch to the cockpit opened, and a short astromech rolled out.

"Hi there, little guy," Kanan said, stepping past the droid to where Hera sat.

She didn't look up as he approached. "That's Chopper." Kanan could just make out the faded 'C1-10P' on the droid's side.

An electric shock jabbed him in the thigh. He yelped and spun. "What the hell?" The droid rumbled what sounded like an evil chuckle.

"He likes you," Hera said.

"He just shocked me!"

"And it wasn't lethal, was it? Now sit down."

Kanan grabbed the chair beside Hera, glaring at her droid as he did, then fell against the back of the chair as they burst into hyperspace. "Whoa!"

"She's got a little kick to her sometimes. Chop, we need to run another diagnostic on the hyperdrive the next time we're parked."

Chopper responded by shocking Kanan again. "Hey, quit that!"

"Drop it," she said to the droid. "He's staying." The droid said something in binary. "No, you don't get a vote." The droid sparked his probe again and Kanan cringed away. "I'm warning you." The probe turned off. The droid said something that he couldn't decipher but sounded very rude, then rolled away aft.

"Charming droid," Kanan said. "Who programmed him, a rancor?" He said it with a forgiving smile. Okay, so her droid was a jerk. He wasn't going to hold a grudge.

"When you don't wipe droids periodically, they pick up a personality of their own. I haven't wiped him in almost ten years."

Kanan watched where the droid had gone. "Have you considered it lately?"

"No." She turned. "He's my best friend."

He saw his opening and went for it. "I could be your best friend."

"Can you solder a power coupling in vacuum at high speed while Imperial TIEs are trying to shoot you down?"

"Maybe." Then he shook his head. "Does that happen a lot with you? I've almost gotten killed about ten times since we met, and I've known you less than a week."

"Most of my adventures aren't quite that exciting. I'm not ready for clear action against the Empire yet."

She sounded so sincere, and Kanan wanted to shake his head again. Rebel-types believed that with enough faith and enough people joining them, they could take down the Emperor. Mostly what happened was they got captured, tortured, and killed, three things Kanan had no interest in doing. When Hera decided she was ready to strap on some big guns and go shooting, Kanan was ready to wish her luck and find his way onto another ship going anywhere else.

Still, he thought, giving her a friendly smile, the company was great for now. "So what's our heading?"

"Further out. There's less Imperial oversight away from the Core, and I don't like oversight when I'm asking questions."

Away from the Empire was fine by him. "Sounds good to me."

Once their course was secure and Hera no longer had to pay close attention to the controls, she leaned back in her seat. It was the most well-used seat in the cockpit, comfortable and shaped by long hours of her body pressing into the cushion. The rest of the chairs looked second-hand but unused, as though when she'd tinkered together the rest of the ship, she'd installed them because a ship should have seats rather than out of need. The crew cabins had been the same way: all alike, appropriate for sleeping but impersonal and unused. Unless she had someone stowed in her locked room, Hera appeared to travel alone except for the droid.

"I've been thinking," she said, with a fond smile on her face that he liked very much. "You saved my life back there on Vidian's ship. You risked exposing your secret for my sake. I appreciate that, and I owe you."

"I wouldn't say 'owe,'" Kanan said. "It was my pleasure."

"Still, I've thought about how to express my gratitude. I'm glad you decided to come aboard my ship with me." She smiled. He smiled back, maybe leaning in a little closer, just a touch, as Hera said, "I have something to offer you, assuming you're still interested."

Several parts of Kanan's brain spoke up at once. He was more than happy to be the recipient of any gratitude she wanted to show his way, but if she felt obligated then things got sticky and maybe he should decline her offer, but on the other hand, who was he to argue with someone who clearly knew her own mind as well as Hera did, and back to the whole 'owing' thing, this might be some Twi'lek cultural thing which he'd never encountered before and he shouldn't offend her culture by declining, but come to think of it now, that sounded like a pretend cultural thing a slaver would have made up with to justify some nasty business, and what was he holding?

Over the last two seconds while he'd sat there, Hera had shoved a data pad into his hands. "What's this?"

"Read it."

"Contract of employment, term unspecified. I, the undersigned, agree to...." He looked up. "You're offering me a job?"

"If you're interested."

Unable to parse together more coherent thought, Kanan turned back to the data pad. He'd signed job offers before, and knew about phrasing like 'commission only' which meant he wouldn't get paid, and 'right to work' which meant his employer could can him at any time. He skimmed for those and a few other hook phrases, then looked at her. "Why don't you give me the basics?"

"I haven't had a crew before. Chop and I can handle the maintenance and upkeep of this ship without help. But if I ever want to take on bigger jobs, I'll need help. You've got skills that seem useful. The pay isn't much. The first cut of all paid work has to go into stocking the fuel tank first, then the galley. We can split whatever's left after that. The more we work, the more we get paid, but my priority is keeping an eye on the Empire."

"I don't intend to deal with the Empire at all."

"Fine, then I'll deal with the Empire and you find us jobs to keep us fueled and fed."

He sat back, gaze moving out into the blue of hyperspace swirling around them. As job offers went, he'd had worse. Still. "If I don't accept?"

"Then I'll be happy to drop you at our next destination and wish you luck." He tried to read anything in her eyes or her voice that gave away disappointment, but she was a blank. "Full disclosure, the contract isn't going to be legally binding in a court. A lot of the work I do is outside the law."

"Smuggling? Piracy?"

"A little of both, but I only rob Imperials." She was completely serious, and once again Kanan was flummoxed by her. She couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen at most, and while he'd dated a few women her age who thought shouting revolutionary slogans loud enough would change the galaxy, Hera was the first one he believed wouldn't bother with the slogans. "Are you in?"

He tapped the corner of the data pad. "Answer me this first, then I'll decide. Is the reason you asked me along because I have Jedi powers?" The word felt weird in his mouth after he'd swallowed all that liquor to wipe it from his tongue.

"It's not the only reason."

"Then no thanks. I don't do that any more."

"I didn't think you would. What I need is someone who's got fast reflexes and a good head. You can move faster than other humans, and you can think faster. I don't care if you've got a laser sword. I need a partner who can think on his feet, watch my back in tight situations, and keep up with me. You're the first person I've met in a long time who might work out."

"Might?" He was already edgy from discussing the thing he didn't like discussing. He let himself enjoy a little offense. "You think I _might_ be able to keep up with you?"

"You've got some growing to do," she said, turning back to the controls of her ship. "I think you're going to be worth the effort. If you disagree, just let me know the heading where I can drop you off."

The gently patronizing tone irritated him. She'd set him up, forcing him to decide if he wanted to be her pet project, or if he wanted to admit he was a lost cause, and she knew it. Maybe it was a test. He hadn't been fond of tests back when he'd been in school. He was ready to give her back her data pad and pick a world at random. Almost.

"And the other reason?"

"Hm?"

"What's the other reason you invited me along?"

She shrugged. "Because I like you."

That wasn't much. He ought to go now. They'd had an intense time together over the last several days, and not the kind of fun he'd been hoping for ever since he'd met her in that alley. Now was a good time to cut his losses. He wondered if she'd considered the same thing, considered leaving Zaluna at her new home before he'd had a chance to join them there and board her ship. Instead of cutting and running, she'd written up an employment contract.

He was probably out of his mind. He signed the contract and handed it back to her. "I didn't sign anything in there saying I have to be nice to the droid, right?"

"The droid gets an equal cut of our take."

"What? He's an astromech. What does he need money for?"

"Even droids have dreams." She made a face. "That may be literal. Chop makes weird noises at night in his charging jack when he's on low power."

"The droid sleeps in your room?" Lucky rust bucket.

"I don't know if he sleeps. Anyway, welcome aboard. You can have your choice of cabins." Seeing his hopeful expression, she added, "There are three open."

This was a bad idea, he told himself. But for some reason, he couldn't make himself regret it.

* * *

Hera had contacts dotted all over the Outer Rim. This one liked certain less than legal items transported to systems where they were even less legal. That one wanted a weapons shipment the Imperials really had no good use for. Her most mysterious contact traded in information.

"But who is this guy?" Kanan asked her as she came out of her room. The door had been locked of course, and he hadn't heard anything through the wall no matter how closely he listened.

"A contact."

"And you trust him? Because I don't trust him."

"You've never met Fulcrum."

"Neither have you." Kanan didn't like it. This Fulcrum guy had contacted Hera a few months ago, and since it was Empire stuff, Kanan hadn't gotten involved. But now they were getting jobs he didn't know about from someone neither of them had met. "For all you know, he's working for the Empire and he's trying to trap you."

"That's a possibility I'm willing to risk. The information has been good so far. Our next job is in the Relgim Sector. Ord Trasi."

"Great. Another long haul. Guess we'll have to keep ourselves entertained somehow." By now, Hera had turned him down enough that he felt like a blanket. He'd given up, but pushed the teasing now and then just to get her rolling her eyes. That was a kind of fun, too. She walked away from him now without replying. "I meant, Chopper finally got that holotable you bought working. I could teach you how to play dejarik."

"I don't think you could. I think I could teach you."

* * *

Ord Trasi was a nicer outpost than they usually visited. Hera met most of her contacts in bars, cantinas, and hole-in-the-wall taverns, all of which suited Kanan fine. They always arrived separately and sat in different parts of the room. He watched the door and kept an ear out for trouble from the other patrons while Hera made the deals. When they were finished, Kanan would leave first, and Hera would leave about ten minutes later. Sometimes they brought the droid. Sometimes Kanan spent half the night stopping himself from kicking the droid.

This place was different. Nice climate, thriving shipworks businesses keeping everyone employed, and only a token Imperial presence for their trouble. Kanan still ducked when he saw stormtroopers, even though he was sure he wasn't on anyone's watch list. The only one who knew his name and face was Captain Sloane, and she owed him one. She might not see things that way, but she wasn't likely to put him on a Wanted poster. That didn't stop Kanan from hurrying his steps when he passed white-armored soldiers. He didn't want any trouble from them.

Hera had promised there wouldn't be trouble.

She bought them passage down to a spot on the planet's surface rather than using the _Phantom_. "We're in disguise," she explained, not really explaining. "We have to get into the religious district. There are specific shuttles authorized to land."

It was nice, like a sightseeing tour, as the shuttle lumbered them down and through the bustling city. Hera pointed out the buildings of different ship makers as they passed them, ignoring the breathtaking architecture. Kanan kept his amusement to himself. The shuttle finally brought them to the gates of the sacred area of the city.

"Two, please," she said as they made their way to the front of the line.

The attendant glanced at her. "You cannot come in."

She waved her credits. "I have the donation."

"Unmarried women are unclean. They cannot come inside."

Hera opened her mouth as Kanan took half a step forward. "Sorry about that. I can give you the money." He plucked it from Hera's glove and handed it over. Then he took and squeezed her arm. "Isn't this exciting?" He gave her a look. She gave him one back.

Then she smiled at the attendant. "I'm very excited, dear. My husband and I would like two tickets, please."

The attendant did not take the money. The line behind them grew longer. "This is your wife?" he asked Kanan.

"Yep. Married almost a year now. Still in the honeymoon phase, really. She wanted to see this place, and I can never tell her no."

Grudgingly, the attendant gave them their tickets. "Enter."

They made their way inside. Hera said, "We'll have to keep up the act, but don't get any ideas, dear."

"I would never, sweetheart."

She made a face. "Not 'sweetheart.'"

"If I call you 'Captain,' people will wonder why."

"We can tell them it's a sex thing. Come on." She grabbed his hand and hurried towards their target. They were joined by several other couples and triads, and found themselves jostled in with the only other interspecies couple, a Gamorrean and her Sullustan husband. They were moved on the tour from place to place as Hera kept her eyes peeled for what they'd come for. Kanan wasn't much for religion, not now, and while the antiquities on display probably had great archaeological interest, he was privately wondering how much each piece would sell for if they could get them out past the guards, off the heavily-armed spaceships surrounding the planet, and to another planet with a buyer.

Not worth the expenses, he decided.

"This one," Hera said, squeezing his hand and moving him closer to a display. The hand holding was nice, he also decided.

They pretended to peer in interest at the rather plain item on display. It didn't even have any gems. "Are we stealing this or what?" Kanan asked her after the rest of the group was moving on.

"Not. I'm making a copy of the carvings on the side. Fulcrum wants to see them." Holocams were strictly forbidden in the religious area, along with unmarried women.

"You're breaking all sorts of rules today. I like it."

"Laugh like I said something funny."

Kanan broke into a loud laugh on cue, thinking of a dirty joke Okadiah told him once. Hera wouldn't have liked it. The Sullustan stared at him. Okay, so he was thinking about Gorse a lot today. He did the math. "You know, it really has been a year. How have I known you a year already?"

"Time flies when you're causing trouble. Done." She stood with a smile. The smile faded. Kanan turned to see several of the holy guards marching their way.

"Time to go," he said, taking her arm and hurrying towards their tour group. They might be able to blend in. There were plenty of humans and a handful of Twi'leks.

They were escorted out of the religious sector without a refund. So were the Gamorrean and Sullustan couple. The Gamorrean woman growled at Hera, "We planned this trip for half a year! We weren't even with you!"

Her husband said, "We're never going to see the Diadem now."

Hera said, "I'm sorry," but despite her line of work, Kanan had been around a few more rough customers than she had, and knew the signs.

"You'd never have gotten it past the guards."

The Gamorrean, Gurna, gave him a shy, toothy grin. "We could have."

* * *

Gurna was a medic when she wasn't robbing holy temples. Borto could climb into the smallest holes Kanan had ever seen, and come back out hauling twice his weight. Hera offered them the job over drinks as she apologized for messing up their heist.

"What's the pay?" Borto asked.

"Bad," Kanan said.

Hera bumped him and said, "The first cut goes into the fuel tank, then into the galley. We split the rest among the crew."

"Four ways isn't bad," Gurna said.

Kanan said, "Her droid gets a cut, too. Otherwise he threatens to cut off the life support."

The pair, who really were a married couple, took a moment to discuss the matter privately. Kanan asked her, "Are you sure about this?"

"They'd be a good fit. We could use a medic around."

"I guess." He looked over at them at the next table then gave a little shiver.

"What?"

"I just pictured their kids."

Hera took a drink. "You know very well interspecies breeding has a very low chance of success."

"I know, but...." He narrowed his eyes. "Hera."

"You need to clear your holonet browsing history."

Kanan took a look at his glass. She didn't like it when he drank, so he tried to keep to non-alcoholic drinks when they were on the job. He might change his mind if she'd been snooping around his holonet habits. That interspecies question had been more of an idle search. "How often do you check?"

"I don't. Chopper runs a sweep every couple of weeks, and he tells me things whether I want to know or not. So please, for both our sakes, clear the file. I can show you how."

Gurna and Borto came back. "We accept," she said. "For now."

* * *

Chopper didn't try to kill either of their new crew members, not more than his usual. He muttered more, and when he was mad, he shocked Kanan instead. Really all Kanan wanted was an hour alone with Chopper, a spanner, and some magnets. Just an hour.

They could run more jobs with extra help. Fulcrum still had them running errands, but there was more paid work, and even split five ways, it was a decent take. The ship was fueled, they were fed, and the lounge seemed cozier with extra people around. Gurna and Borto were madly in love, though they kept most of the physical affection in their quarters.

"You two aren't married?" Gurna had asked Hera with some surprise their first day when she was giving them the tour of the ship.

"No. Kanan's my business partner and my friend."

"I see. Sorry for the confusion."

Kanan had given up on confusion. Hera liked him well enough, but wasn't interested in anything more, and he'd accepted that. Maybe she was into women. Maybe she wasn't into anyone. He'd met all sorts in his travels. She was still plenty of fun to be around. He was never bored, not when she was outracing a pursuer while twisting and turning the ship through manuevers he could only dream of pulling off, not when they were staking out an Imperial supply depot, not between systems as he tried and failed to beat her at dejarik.

He had made peace with where they stood, he told himself, and yet when Hera came out of her quarters one day, excitement on her face, he couldn't help but wilt when she told him Fulcrum wanted to meet face to face.

"Really?"

"This could be a very important meeting."

"I'm sure."

She headed towards the cockpit, sliding into her seat and pulling up the navicomp. "Camden, in three days. I have the name of the cantina. I'm going in alone."

Kanan plunked himself down in his chair beside her. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

She fixed him with a look. "You said you didn't want to be involved with this side of the business. I am building connections with Fulcrum. Those connections will become other connections. Yes, I think it's a good idea."

"I think I should go with you."

"Because you think it's trouble or because you don't like the idea of my meeting with Fulcrum without you?"

"Both. I'm your backup, and if I'm not, take Gurna or Borto. Take Chopper. But don't go by yourself."

"I don't need a chaperone."

The back of his mind itched. He hadn't used this particular sense in long enough that he couldn't tell if it was actively warning him, or if he was letting jealousy take over. He thought for a long moment.

"Maybe it's nothing. Let me go in like usual. I won't interfere. I won't even sit where I can see him. If you give me the signal that everything's fine, I'll leave and I'll wait back here on the ship. Can we make that deal?"

She glared at him, and he could tell she was considering telling him off. "Fine. But you'll see. Fulcrum isn't a threat."

* * *

The cantina was as loud and happy as the usual dives they visited. Kanan sat close enough to get a bead on Hera without getting in her way. She sat at the bar, nursing her drink, and when anyone came over to make themselves friendly, she engaged them in small talk for a minute or two, casually dropping in the phrase, "I've been meaning to visit Mandalore." So far, she'd been wished a pleasant trip by three men and offered passage by two others. No one had given her the second half of the code.

"I could show you Mandalore," said her latest new friend, leaning into her suggestively. Another bust.

"Maybe when I get back from my trip," she said, and turned the conversation elsewhere. After a short time, he walked away.

Kanan stood up with a stretch. There was a 'fresher around here somewhere. Maybe Fulcrum was visiting that instead of Mandalore.

A few minutes later, Kanan returned to his seat. Hera was gone from hers. Had he missed her contact point that quickly? She wouldn't have had time to work the phrase into a new conversation yet.

He scanned the crowd, suddenly very worried, and saw her in the company of the last guy and two of his buddies, headed towards the door. She blinked uneasily as he moved her along. Kanan tossed his credits to his table and followed them outside.

"Hey," he said, the moment they were out in the street.

"Hi, Kanan," Hera said, and her voice wasn't slurred but it was very different.

"Glad I found you," he said, rushing up to her. "Thanks for finding her, guys." He tensed, ready for a fight. He'd take the tall one out first. That would give him some leverage.

"Dina here was leaving with us," said the tall guy. Right. That was her alias tonight.

"She never could hold her liquor. Come on, dear. Time to go home." He moved to take her from her would-be captors.

"Not going home. Going to visit Mandalore."

"Yes," he said. "I've heard it's lovely this time of year."

She blinked, her gaze a little more clear upon hearing the rest of the code. Good thing he knew it. The three men didn't look like they were ready to give her up, not after whatever the guy holding her had slipped into her drink.

"I need to go with Kanan," she said.

"Josa, have a word with him," said the tall guy.

The third guy stepped closer to Kanan, sizing him up. Kanan said to Hera, "Dear?"

"Yes, love?"

"These guys love the Empire."

Her face twisted. Then she punched the man holding her, kicking at his legs savagely when he fell back. Kanan turned and went for the tall guy, taking him down with a fast punch to the solar plexus, then shoving him like a blunt weapon into the third guy.

"Time to go," he said, sweeping Hera alongside him. He might be able to win this fight better, but he'd rather see her to safety.

"This is fun!"

"You are going to hate your headache tomorrow. Lucky for you, I've had plenty of hangovers and I know a lot of good hangover remedies."

"Okay!"

They made their way to the ship without being pursued. He noticed as they walked, she sagged more and more against him. As they reached the _Ghost_ , Hera grabbed his shirt and kissed him with no grace at all, her mouth sweet with the alcohol and whatever had been in it. Startled, he let himself enjoy this for a long moment before pulling her back. "Wait."

"It's fine," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I've thought about this a lot. We should do it in my bunk. You've got that upper bunk. We'll hurt ourselves having sex there." She paused. "I know! I'll remove it. Let me get the tools from Chopper. It'll only be a few minutes."

Still babbling, he led her inside and pounded on the door to the cabin beside Hera's, which had been converted to a nice living space for the others. "Gurna!"

A few busy moments later, in which Hera tried to kiss him several times, Gurna appeared, clearly irritated at the interruption in her own evening plans. "What?"

"I need you out here. Some clowns dosed Hera with something."

She reappeared with her clothes and her scanner. Kanan coaxed Hera into her own quarters while Gurna checked the readings. "She hasn't been poisoned. It looks like she's got some sort of aphrodisiac in her system." Gurna made a face at her scanner readouts. "Norcala." Not a poison, no, just a powerful drug that worked on Twi'leks far too well. There weren't many Twi'leks on this planet. The man must have thought this to be his lucky day when Hera walked in.

"Will she be all right?"

"It will be out of her system by tomorrow. I can sedate her tonight."

"Give her a small dose of sedative. I don't know how it will react with the other stuff."

"I do, but fine." Gurna gave Hera a quick injection as Hera complained. "Get some sleep," she said, leaving them alone.

"I was hoping she'd leave. Now, we'll have to work out some details. You haven't been with any non-humans before. I should be in charge." She kept trying to wrap her arms around him, and Kanan kept pushing her back.

"As much fun as I am sure your control freak tendencies are going to be in bed, now is not the time to explore that."

She tried again, and again he pushed her, gently, trying to settle her as she said, "You've wanted me since the day we met. I've wanted you, too. This is the easy part!" And it sounded so easy. His body was already telling him in the most insistent way that the gorgeous woman he'd been besotted with all this time was ready and willing. Fortunately for them both, his mind knew she was neither.

"Tell you what. Tomorrow morning, you can come wake me up, and then we'll talk about it. All right?" His eyes caught a light glowing on her private comm. "Hold that thought."

He flipped on the panel. Hera had a personal code that she probably thought Kanan hadn't worked out yet.

A hooded figure appeared. A recording. "This is Fulcrum. I can't make the rendezvous. I will be in contact later."

"Yes, thanks buddy," Kanan said, turning it off again. "You didn't miss your chance to meet your hero, anyway. That's good news."

Hera lay back on her bunk. The sedative was already taking effect. "Stay here with me. It'll be fun."

"Later," he said, and because this was the least of the things she'd be mad about later, he kissed her forehead before letting himself out of her cabin.

Chopper waited for him in the corridor, beeping worriedly.

"She's going to be okay. I need you to do us all a big favor, though. Lock her in her cabin until morning. If she gets out, she might hurt herself."

Chopper growled, still wary of Kanan after all this time.

"You're going to have to trust me."

* * *

He wound up staying awake. He used to be able to meditate when he was worried, and he tried now, keeping himself alert in case Hera woke up and got free. She might come to his cabin, or she might go out into the city. Either way, he needed to be ready to collect her again and bring her back to her room.

When morning arrived, he woke up in a resting position on his floor. He stepped out of his cabin to find Hera's door was already unlocked, and she was not inside her room. He'd have heard, he thought, but what if he hadn't? He closed his eyes, reaching out with the Force in panicked haste. He hadn't done this in years, searching for a mind among hundreds of others. He had to find her.

He felt a little silly when he realized she was in the galley fixing herself a very large mug of caf.

She didn't look at him when he came in and wished her good morning.

"You know," he said, "I know a lot of good hangover remedies."

"You told me so last night," she said. She was angry and sad and yes, embarrassed. Things would be awkward for a while. Better to have it out now.

"I wasn't sure if you'd remember."

"I remember everything." The embarrassment was worse.

"You don't have to feel bad. Someone tried to hurt you, you got away safe. You didn't hurt anyone else, at least no one who didn't deserve it," he amended as he remembered how she'd taken down the guy who'd slipped her the drug.

"I threw myself at you. I'm sorry. That was inappropriate."

"Please stop beating yourself up over something you couldn't control. I hate it when people beat you up." He gave her a smile for another one of his bad jokes, but she wouldn't return it.

She sat at the table, face in her hands. "You could have done anything you wanted. I wouldn't have said no. I would probably have given you notes on what you were doing wrong."

"Probably." He sat down across from her. "I did do what I wanted. I wanted to get you back here safely."

If she had heard him, she gave no sign, still stuck in her misery. "Fulcrum sent me a message after we left that our meeting had to be postponed. I went in there for nothing. I should never have tried to go in alone."

"This time? No. But I had a bad feeling about it and I'm glad you let me trust that feeling. There will be other missions you're going to work alone, and things are going to work out fine. For today, drink your caf, drink a lot of water, and thank Gurna for sedating you as soon as she did."

"I will. Kanan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

They had pulled off a more lucrative job than usual, and got in a few kicks to the Empire's pants along the way. The team wasn't rich, and wouldn't have been even if they hadn't split the take, but it was more money than Kanan had seen in a while. Hera was thrilled to have six full months of backup fuel on hand. Gurna and Borto had closed down the bar buying drinks for everyone, while Hera had come back to the ship to work on the navicomp, which seemed to make her happy. It had been a pretty good day.

He had no expectation of things ending even better when typically the opposite tended to be true. So when he settled down in his bunk, his eyes closing, and he heard his door slide open, his first reaction was that the good times had ended and they were being raided. He had his hand raised to call his blaster into it when his eyes focused enough to see the form in his doorway was most definitely not a stormtrooper or a pirate, or at least, not an unfriendly pirate.

"Hi," Hera said. "Mind if I come in?"

"It's your ship, as you've reminded me a hundred times."

The door closed behind her. He could sense her nervousness and also something else. She approached his bunk, then sat down.

"What's up?"

"I need you to promise me something."

"Sure."

"Promise me you won't read too much into this tomorrow." Then she kissed him, hard, with more grace than she had a few months ago.

Just as he had on that occasion, Kanan enjoyed the kiss for a few seconds before pushing her back with a sigh. "Let me get Gurna."

"Gurna's busy. Have I ever told you we need to improve the soundproofing between the cabins? I can hear them every night." Her tone was half humor and half despair. That was a lot of sex to be listening to. Kanan's imagination had already shut off when it came to figuring out how that could work.

"I'll interrupt her."

"I'm not drugged." She kissed him again, and this time he took a lot longer to push her shoulders back. The only dilation in her eyes was from the darkness of his room, and the only taste in her kiss was the industrial-sized mug of caf she'd been downing while she did the repairs.

"Hera?"

"This doesn't have to be complicated. I'm not interested in complicated."

"You've said you're not interested at all."

"I can change my mind."

"Yeah, but why would you?"

"Because I like you."

She leaned in to kiss him again, and this time, he didn't argue. She'd been correct: his bunk was a bad location. Hera bumped her head on the upper bunk twice, and once she shoved a knee into his stomach. Neither had any experience with the other's species, but his HoloNet searches had turned out to be useful research under the circumstances. Her mouth was quick and clever against his, and wet against his skin as she learned her way around his body. Her skin was as soft as he'd imagined, smooth under his fingers where she moved his hands to touch her. The voice he'd fallen for two years ago had never sounded sweeter than when she was urging him on with a low, needy moan.

Naturally, she had notes for him after. Kanan was perfectly happy with hearing them. Notes meant she wanted to do this again sometime soon. Hera said she didn't want complicated. He liked uncomplicated.

* * *

Things changed, and Kanan thought those things were for the better. They were all a real team by now, relying on one another's strengths. They couldn't stay in any one place for long. You didn't survive by becoming famous in this life. Hera gathered her information, and she kept tight with Fulcrum. Kanan didn't argue when she arranged to meet her friend again.

"It's the same deal as before," she said. "I'm supposed to come alone."

He poked around his feelings, and nothing bad poked back, other than a little lingering jealousy, though only a little. "I think it's a good idea."

While she was out, the rest of them had dinner aboard the ship. "You're not worried?" Gurna asked him.

"She'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

"If you say so," Borto said.

His wife turned on him. "You'd be mad if I was talking to some other man?"

"I'd pretend to be fine, but I'd be seething inside."

Kanan watched them, hoping this wasn't going to turn into a public display. But Gurna turned back to Kanan. "You are pretending better than he does."

He waved her off. "Hera's fine, and no, I'm not worried."

The conversation drifted, and he was glad. Gurna had started to call Hera his girlfriend, and that got awkward. Hera insisted what they had wasn't a relationship. It was just a fun means of spending their evenings together now and then. Kanan was happy to let her keep on thinking what she wanted.

Still, he was relieved when she got back to the ship, safe and sound and thoughtful.

"Good contact?"

"Odd. We couldn't even sit at the same table. I never saw Fulcrum's face at all, just a cloak and hood. But yes. I'm satisfied with the outcome. We'll have more work coming."

"It's too much to hope that'll be paid work, isn't it?"

She threaded her fingers into his. "No hope at all." But as she led him through the ship towards her cabin, Kanan found that he didn't mind at all.

* * *

Four systems on, Borto got hurt working a job, and the couple decided it was time to take their pay and move on.

"Are you sure?" Hera asked, over and over. "Is it something I did? Was it Chopper? You know he never means the things he says."

"No," Borto reassured her. "We'd just like to go back to our old life. It's been wonderful traveling with you."

Gurna said, "Maybe we'll see you again when we're all doing time in an Imperial prison somewhere." She punched Kanan in the arm companionably, which left a bruise. "Be good, you scoundrel."

"You too," he said, wincing.

After they disembarked, Hera stood by him, watching them go. "It was nice having a full crew."

"We can pick up more crew."

She shook her head. "They have to be the right ones. I liked Gurna and Borto and I wish them well, but they were never going to stay for the long haul. I see that now. I'll find the right people."

He looked at her, and wondered when he'd stopping thinking about when he was going to leave. He couldn't remember the last time he had considered walking away, and he wondered if he'd surrendered that chance on his very first day.

"Hera, you know I'm here for the long haul, right? Wherever you go, I go, for as long as you'll have me around."

She nodded, and for a moment he thought she was absently dismissing him and what he knew he was saying. Then she looked at him with a smile.

"I know."

**Author's Note:**

> Includes scene of character being exposed to date rape drug space equivalent. No actual harm comes to said character.


End file.
